2015
A Celebration of Our Partners
Working Together. Saving Lives.
Funds and in-kind donations raised by the CDC Foundation during fiscal year 2015, a record for the organization
CDC Foundation projects in fiscal year 2015 led by CDC in the United States and in 75 countries around the world
CDC Foundation international and domestic projects with CDC in fiscal year 2015
Raised by the CDC Foundation to support 824 programs since 1995
2015 marks the CDC Foundation’s 20-year anniversary. The CDC Foundation has grown from a staff of two when it opened its doors in 1995 to a team of 57 employees and more than 70 field staff supporting the work of CDC.
During the 2015 fiscal year, the CDC Foundation had a record-breaking year of helping CDC do more. The organization raised $102,293,918 for our ongoing programs and an additional $54,956,187 for our Ebola response work in West Africa.
President and CEO Charles Stokes announced his retirement in 2015 from the CDC Foundation after more than 20 years of service as the first and only executive to lead the organization.
The CDC Foundation partnered with Bloomberg Philanthropies to improve the quality and use of health data. Each year, more than 50 million people die around the globe and for many, the actual cause of death is never recorded, which is a major obstacle to developing data-driven policies that can improve public health. Working with CDC and other global partners, the initiative will focus on 20 countries from around the world to strengthen birth and death data systems, use technology to improve risk factor surveys and find innovative ways to ensure data is used to inform critical public health decisions.
The CDC Foundation, along with CDC and key global health partners, launched a new alliance, Malaria Zero, to eliminate malaria in Hispaniola by 2020, with a $29.9 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Hispaniola, which includes the countries of Haiti and the Dominican Republic, is the only remaining island in the Caribbean where malaria is endemic. The majority of Hispaniola’s malaria cases occur in Haiti, where approximately 17,000 cases were confirmed in 2014.
Sickle cell disease, estimated to affect nearly 100,000 Americans, is the most common inherited blood disorder in the United States. The estimated cost of care for sickle cell disease is approximately $1.1 billion annually. The CDC Foundation launched a new partnership with CDC to create a longitudinal data collection system for sickle cell disease. Initial funding provided by Pfizer Inc.
2015 marks the CDC Foundation’s 20-year anniversary. The CDC Foundation has grown from a staff of two when it opened its doors in 1995 to a team of 57 employees and more than 70 field staff supporting the work of CDC.
During the 2015 fiscal year, the CDC Foundation had a record-breaking year of helping CDC do more. The organization raised $102,293,918 for our ongoing programs and an additional $54,418,545* for our Ebola response work in West Africa.
(*amount raised in FY15)
President and CEO Charles Stokes announced his retirement in 2015 from the CDC Foundation after more than 20 years of service as the first and only executive to lead the organization.
The CDC Foundation partnered with Bloomberg Philanthropies to improve the quality and use of health data. Each year, more than 50 million people die around the globe and for many, the actual cause of death is never recorded, which is a major obstacle to developing data-driven policies that can improve public health. Working with CDC and other global partners, the initiative will focus on 20 countries from around the world to strengthen birth and death data systems, use technology to improve risk factor surveys and find innovative ways to ensure data is used to inform critical public health decisions.
The CDC Foundation, along with CDC and key global health partners, launched a new alliance, Malaria Zero, to eliminate malaria in Hispaniola by 2020, with a $29.9 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Hispaniola, which includes the countries of Haiti and the Dominican Republic, is the only remaining island in the Caribbean where malaria is endemic. The majority of Hispaniola’s malaria cases occur in Haiti, where approximately 17,000 cases were confirmed in 2014.
Sickle cell disease, estimated to affect nearly 100,000 Americans, is the most common inherited blood disorder in the United States. The estimated cost of care for sickle cell disease is approximately $1.1 billion annually. The CDC Foundation launched a new partnership with CDC to create a longitudinal data collection system for sickle cell disease. Initial funding provided by Pfizer Inc.
In response to the Ebola epidemic, the CDC Foundation provided 1,153 laptops, printers, tablets and projectors for data collection and training and 4,654 mobile phones for data sharing, surveillance and contact tracing. A variety of donors, including the Hospital Corporation of America (HCA) and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, supported this effort.
The CDC Foundation provided support to the Sierra Leone Trial to Introduce a Vaccine Against Ebola (STRIVE) by delivering start-up funding prior to the availability of government funds. The vaccine trial got off the ground quickly, thanks to $2.5 million of a $25 million donation from Facebook Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Dr. Priscilla Chan, through their donor advised fund at the Silicon Valley Community Foundation.
The western surge was an essential turning point in the fight against Ebola in the western region of Sierra Leone. The CDC-led effort put 450 locally-hired staff on the ground in four days. The CDC Foundation’s ability to secure funding for this initiative in a matter of hours was key to the success. Essential funding was provided by an individual donor and The David and Lucile Packard Foundation.
The CDC Foundation, with funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, provided a variety of equipment to assist with testing Ebola in laboratories in West Africa. From facilities to transportation to staffing, the CDC Foundation helped to provide infrastructure and tools to aid in the response.
A $12.9 million donation from the Paul G. Allen Ebola Program to the CDC Foundation helped local West African ministries of health build and establish temporary and permanent emergency operations centers in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. Proteus On-Demand used their expertise to advise this work and build the centers in Liberia and Sierra Leone. The centers provided critical infrastructure, including trained personnel, data management, technology, equipment and supplies needed to respond swiftly to the Ebola epidemic and future health threats.
Transportation is essential during the Ebola response—vehicles are used for conducting surveillance activities and transporting lab samples, patients, bodies of the deceased, supplies and equipment. Through a donation provided by Facebook Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Dr. Priscilla Chan, from their donor advised fund at the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, the CDC Foundation purchased 206 four-wheel-drive vehicles. The CDC Foundation also donated 404 motorcycles, funded by a variety of donors.
Earlier this year, Liberia was declared Ebola free. A concerted effort from CDC, global partners and multiple donors—such as The Paul G. Allen Ebola Program, The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, The Cohler Charitable Fund and Jeff and Marieke Rothschild—contributed to this milestone. The important work they supported involved training hundreds of civic and religious leaders about actions citizens could take to prevent and report Ebola, developing 15 county level emergency operations centers to coordinate the response, and creating three community care centers and two rapid isolation treatment facilities to care and treat patients.
CDC Foundation donor funds have been used to hire hundreds of locally employed staff to aid in disease surveillance and contact tracing. Tracking patients and investigating each case quickly is critical to the response.
The CDC Foundation leveraged donor funds from the Paul G. Allen Ebola Program to support call centers in Guinea and Sierra Leone to assist with the Ebola response. Alerts from a call center notify ambulance, surveillance and burial teams about potential new cases, triggering a life-saving response.
The CDC Foundation worked with CDC to help raise awareness about Ebola in West Africa by supporting radio programming, training, publications and on-the-ground community mobilizers. Educating the community, maintaining relationships and building trust were key to controlling the epidemic.
The CDC Foundation, actor Idris Elba, a team of African soccer stars and international health and aid organizations launched Africa United, a global health communications campaign in partnership with KYNE Communications and other partners, aimed at preventing the spread of Ebola in West Africa. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Jeff and Marieke Rothschild contributed to the campaign.
The CDC Foundation supported CDC's response to the Ebola epidemic with $56,996,187 from 1,630 donors. The CDC Foundation’s board of directors acknowledged the tremendous needs in West Africa and committed to absorb 100 percent of the Foundation’s management costs associated with the Global Disaster Response Fund. Every penny donated to the Ebola relief effort was used to support CDC’s emergency mandate to stop the Ebola epidemic.
Hear from those working on the frontlines of CDC’s response and from donors who answered the call to support this essential work.
The CDC Foundation brought together donors and partners to support CDC’s work in West Africa, and this was critically important to turning the tide on the epidemic. This is just one of many examples of how partnering with the CDC Foundation helps CDC protect Americans and others around the world.
Tom Frieden, M.D., M.P.H.
Director, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Because of you, the CDC Foundation has been able to help advance CDC’s work like never before. When CDC needed support in West Africa, you gave. Your involvement in confronting the largest Ebola epidemic in history—and the power of your philanthropy—saved lives in West Africa, America and around the globe.
“We are extremely grateful for the many donors who put their trust in the CDC Foundation. We are celebrating our 20-year anniversary with a record-setting year. Together, we are making a critical impact and helping CDC extend its work in this country and around the world.”
Charles Stokes
President and CEO, CDC Foundation
For the eighth year in a row, the CDC Foundation received a 4-star rating from Charity Navigator. Only 1 percent of charities rated have received eight consecutive 4-star evaluations.
Photos: © David Snyder / CDC Foundation EOC photo: Tommy Trenchard Malaria Zero photo: The Carter Center
